Thursday’s Top 6 Matches: Volleyball World Cup Semifinals and KHL Derby
Mikhail Georgiev September 13, 2023, 21:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Agenda for September 14: hockey, rugby and some football.
A quick link to this schedule is available in the additional menu: “Main matches of the day”.
See all events for September 14 at the Match Center.
The program in summary:
⚽️ 18:00: “Al-Okhdud” – “Al-Ittihad”, Pro-League, sixth round 🏒 17:00 “Metallurg” – “Lada”, KHL championship 🏒 17:00: “Salavat Yulaev” – “ Ak Bars “, KHL Championship 🏐 19:00: Italy – France, EURO 2023 (m), 1/2 final 🏐 22:00: Poland – Slovenia, EURO 2023 (m), 1/2 final 🏉 22:00: France – Uruguay, World Cup-2023, group A, 2nd round
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The time on the material is indicated in Moscow.
⚽️ 18:00: Al-Ohdood – Al-Ittihad, Pro League, 6th round
Intrigue: Al-Ittihad with Benzema and Kante launches into the lead
The new season of the Saudi League is a mini-Premier League. Almost every team has a star on its roster. And the coolest ones have several peaks even by world football standards. One of these teams is Al-Ittihad. Karim Benzema alone is enough to fight for gold. And they also have N’Golo Kante, Fabinho and Luis Felipe in their lineup. The team had a great start in the league, losing only in the last round to another star team: Al-Hilal (3-4). Ahead is a meeting with a stranger – Al-Okhdud. We will have to play away from home, but Al-Ittihad is the undisputed favorite. If Benzema’s team wins, it will take the first intermediate place in the Saudi Arabian championship. Good motivation!
Al Ittihad players
Photo: Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images
🏒 17:00 “Metallurg” – “Lada”, KHL championship
Intrigue: will fans return to the Magnitogorsk stands?
Despite the abundance of star players and not the highest prices in the KHL, last year Arena-Metallurg was one of the most deserted in the league. They say local fans are too accustomed to playoff success to attend the regular season, and the content of the team’s games last year didn’t particularly encourage high attendance. However, now Metallurg is the most playful and dangerous team at the beginning of the Championship. Also interesting is the clash of two styles: the mobile offensive hockey of Andrei Razin and the conservative defensive of Oleg Bratash.
Danila Kvartalnov (“Metallurgist”)
Photo: vk.com/hcmetallurg
🏒 17:00: “Salavat Yulaev” – “Ak Bars”, KHL championship
💬 Match with text broadcast
Intrigue: will Ufa remember the attack at least in the derby?
It is not necessary to invent special intrigues for the “green derby”; However, it was once a clash not only of neighboring republics, but also of different styles and approaches. Viktor Kozlov’s team this year seems mechanized and not the most creative; In principle, this can be attributed to questionable recruitment in the summer. Ak Bars have a different problem: there is nowhere to put their star forwards. Damir Zhafyarov, who accepted a contract cut in the summer, does not fit into Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s plans and is positioned as the thirteenth striker. Maybe Damir will have a chance against the Ufa club?
“Salavat Yulaev” – “Bars Ak”
Photo: vk.com/hcsalavat
🏐 19:00: Italy – France, EURO 2023 (m), 1/2 final
Intrigue: will De Giorgi’s boys reach the second consecutive Euro final?
In this Euro Cup, the French have not yet faced serious competition, which can be a cruel joke for Andrea Giani’s team. While Italy recently snatched a very difficult tiebreaker from the Dutch and boosted their confidence ahead of the final matches. The home stands will also help them: the entire Rome stadium will take the team to the second consecutive Euro final.
Italy national team for Euro 2023
Photo: cev.eu
🏐 22:00: Poland – Slovenia, EURO 2023 (m), 1/2 final
Intrigue: Can Poland beat Slovenia in the Euro playoffs for the first time in eight years?
Historically, Nikola Grbic’s team, in any formation, plays poorly against the Slovenians in the European Championship playoffs: they have not won since 2015. Gheorghe Cretu will also try to surprise the Poles this time, who still cannot decide who will be the six finalists. And it is not a fact that Grbic’s experiments will go against the mature and very united Slovenian team, which will compete for another place in the final.
The Polish national team at Euro 2023
Photo: cev.eu
🏉 22:00: France – Uruguay, KM-2023, group A, 2nd round
Intrigue: Will the hosts continue their victorious march towards the World Cup?
The match between the France and Uruguay teams will open the second round of the World Cup. The hosts of the tournament, after a beautiful and convincing victory over the New Zealand team, almost completely changed the main team. The South Americans missed the first round and will present their best players for the match against the favorite. If they win, the French will almost certainly secure a place in the quarterfinals.
france rugby team
Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images
